Bricks and other masonry materials are typically bundled as a plurality of stacked individual units (i.e., individual bricks) formed into a 3-dimensional bundle. The bundle includes one or More package straps, corner protectors, and a void board that is placed between two horizontal layers of bricks. Generally, the void board is placed above a layer of bricks that has bricks omitted, e.g., forming openings in the bundle. Additional layers of bricks are placed on top of the board. The openings, which are typically centrally disposed, are configured to allow the tines of a forklift or similar device to pass into the bundle. In moving the package of bricks, the forklift exerts a force on the underside of the board to lift the entire package. Typically, the openings are formed extending through the entire depth of the bundle.
One known void board is formed as a veneer. These veneer void boards are often of poor quality and have a tendency to warp and degrade after prolonged exposure to the elements. Warping results in uneven surfaces upon which layers of bricks are stacked, which in turn can result in package instability and/or the inability to insert the forklift tines.
Other void boards use solid or ribbed plastic sheets. Such void boards are disclosed in Duke et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,989,184, Varma, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,838,095, and Kruelle et al., Published U.S. Patent applications publication Nos. 2008/0311334 and 2008/0311335, all of which are commonly assigned with the present application and incorporated herein by reference. While the polymeric void boards have been found to function well at a given thickness, they require a higher material weight (and thus, cost) than desired for such a consumable item. When a thinner sheet is used (and thus, less material), it has been found that the boards may not have the desired stiffness. To increase stiffness, a board having a wide, ski-like element formed on one or both sides of the board has been used. While this functions well for some applications, it also adds material weight and cost to the board.
Moreover, there has been an industry shift to the use of textured bricks. These bricks, unlike conventional bricks, may not have flat sides or faces. Rather, the faces of the bricks may be irregularly shaped or non-planar. As such, when a ski-containing sheet-like board is used, the bricks may tend to lean or skew to one side, because the ski creates a fulcrum on which the bricks rest. This results in the brick bundle not being properly strapped and can cause package (bundle) instability and/or failure.
Other polymeric or plastic sheets have been used that include embossings or shapes formed in the sheets, transverse to the plane of the sheet. It has been observed that the embossings can collapse under the weigh of the bricks, especially when the bundle is subject to vibration, as during transport, and consequently bundle failure can occur.
Accordingly, there is a need for a void board that is of consistent quality, reliability, and strength to allow stable stacking of bricks for bundle forming, without crushing the board. Desirably, such a void board does not collapse after exposure to the elements and/or vibration, and provides a planar, consistent support, even when used with irregularly surfaced bricks.
More desirably, such a void board is used as a component in a brick package or bundle in which corner edge protectors and straps are used to complete the package to, for example, facilitate storage, handling, shipping and the like.